100 THE POURO OF QUIROS. 



]) resent liomes in the south-centi'al Pacific (Samoa, Tonga, the 

 Marquesas, Society Islands, &c). The Mongols following close upon 

 thera, finally reached the groups of islands together known as 

 Micronesia in the north-central Pacific (Ladrone, Caroline, Marshall, 

 Gilbert Islands, &c.}. 



The reference to the supposed sunken continents in the Indian 

 and Pacific Oceans, which served as stepping-stones in these 

 migrations, merits my attention. From our most recent knowledge 

 of the geological structure of tropical islands, to which ray observa- 

 tions in the Solomon Islands have in some measure contributed, it 

 may be inferred that there is but little geological evidence to sup- 

 port the view of the existence of these submerged continents. The 

 theory of subsidence, on which Mr. Darwin's explanations of atolls 

 was based, cannot now be urged in support of prolonged periods of 

 subsidence in the tropical regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 

 The groups of atolls, which there occur, were formed, as shown by 

 recent investigations, around and over oceanic peaks of volcanic 

 formation, and independently of any movement of subsidence.^ 



With leference to the migration eastwards of the Eastern Polv- 

 nesians, I would allude to a piece of evidence which was advanced 

 by Mr. Hale in support of tlie view that the island of Bouro in the 

 Malay Archipelago was the starting-point of the migration. Quiros, 

 the Spanish navigator, was informed in 1G06 by a native captured 

 at Taumaco, near the Santa Cruz Group, that there was a large 

 country named Pouro in the vicinity of that region. This Pouro, 

 however, was without doubt the neighbouring island of St. Chris- 

 toval (one of the Solomon Group) which retains the native name of 

 Bauro at the present day, and as we learn from Gallego's journal,^ 

 was called by the natives Pauhro rather over three centuries ago. 

 Mr. Hale, however, who of course was not acquainted with the 

 native name of St. Christoval, endeavours to identify this Pouro, of 

 which Quiros was informed, with the distant Bouro of the Indian 

 Archipelago. {Vide note xv. of the Geographical Appendix) .... 

 The foregoing remarks have not been offered with any object of 

 criticising a view on "V^iich I am not competent to speak. The 

 misconception having come under my notice, I considered it my 

 duty to refer to it. 



1 Vide the writings of Murray, Agassiz, Geikie, and others. In my volume of geological 

 observations, to be shortly published, I have referred at length to this subject. 

 " Fi't/e page 229 of this work. 



